Say hi to Lindsay! ---------------------> I had a small group of friends over today to celebrate Thanksgiving!! Thanks guys!! ♥ My camera is broken, so I didn't get to take a group picture, but I did take two! And scanned a few things that we might have made today..

Bunny-girl Adele and.... kitten Kira? What happened??? ToT

So, we played a great party game that I've never heard of before... One person writes a phrase, and the next person draws a picture based on that phrase. Then the next person only looks at the picture and writes a phrase describing it... and on and on. Some funny things came up!

(click on them for a bigger, more readable version)

And then, we played a game that Mako and I came up with a while back (okay, we stole the idea from an iphone game a while back). Basically, it's memory with hand-drawn cards. Only, different people draw them, so they look totally different! (does that make sense?) Basically, the more retarded the drawing, the more fun! (does that make sense, too? XD)

If anyone (who was not present) can name all of the topics correctly, I'll send you one of my nengajou postcards this year!! (Nengajou are a japanese tradition.. basically postcards that you send out to mark the beginning of the New Year)Just email me (hinoai@hotmail.com) with your answers! I'm strict :3 But I really will send you one of my cards if you do manage to get them all right! =^-^=

Here are the cards that we made:

I might have made an lj icon out of one of them.. I love it THAT much! =^-^=

By the way, we also laughed SO HARD at this video that some of us had upset stomachs afterwards:

OMG, I haven't laughed this hard in YEARS!!

Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?

Two things come to mind right away...

1. Karaoke! As in the kind in little private rooms, instead of being at like, a bar, in front of strangers.

2. Yakiniku/Sukiyaki/Nabe. All of these are "gather with friends/family and cook at the table" type of meals. They're a lot of fun!!! I really wish that they had these kinds of restaurants in America. I have a feeling that they would become pretty popular pretty fast! (because they're so much fun!)

The Japan 30-day Meme ♡〜（ゝ。∂）

Day 01 - A picture of you "in Japan". (doing or wearing something "Japanese")Day 02 - Describe your neighborhood in Japan.Day 03 - Most interesting person you've met.Day 04 - What's your favorite place that's not in any of the guidebooks/lists of places to visit?Day 05 - Which, if any, Japanese mannerisms or expressions have you adopted?Day 06 - Food that you swore you would never eat but now love (or tolerate).Day 07 - Which Japanese words do you use in English? (hanami, shinkansen, etc.)Day 08 - Are you a Herbivore or Carnivore? S or M?Day 09 - Favorite stores/shopping centers.Day 10 - Something about Japan that sets it apart from anywhere else.Day 11 - What did you find most overrated and underrated about Japan?Day 12 - Describe a fail!gaijin moment. (Where you did something wrong or completely misunderstood because you couldn't ~read the air~ or just plain had no idea what you were supposed to do because you weren't born and raised here) Describe a gaijin!smash moment .(Where your foreignness was to your benefit)Day 13 - Favorite live event that you attendedDay 14 - What is the hardest thing about living in Japan versus your home country?Day 15 - Weirdest food item you've seen, and weirdest food item you've actually eaten.Day 16 - How you realised you'd acclimated to Japan. (if you have)Day 17 - Your karaoke top 5, your sushi top 5, your conbini top 5.Day 18 - Post some amusing/cute/faily purikura.Day 19 - Your favorite Japanese character(s) and Gachapon/UFO Catcher toysDay 20 - Favorite Japanese festival or folklore.Day 21 - Favorite and least favorite Japanese fashion trendsDay 22 - Your favorite Japanese saying or kotowaza (proverb)..Day 23 - What is something you have/do in Japan that you wish you had/could do in your home country?Day 24 - Your favorite Japanese slang or borrow-word (外来語), e.g. セフレ "sex friend"Day 25 - Most interesting vending machine find.Day 26 - What's your favorite/least favorite train line.Day 27 - Place you avoid going to if at all possible.Day 28 - A picture of you looking like a weaboo/A picture of you trying to blend in and failing.Day 29 - What's the thing you [will] miss most about Japan when you leave (either on vacation, or move away)?Day 30 - Did Japan meet your expectations, both good and bad? What has been the most surprising thing about Japan for you, or the thing you least expected?

PS: I am thankful for friends and loved ones that I can spend the holidays with, a good job, and the fact that I am free to pursue my dreams with all of my heart ♥ What are you thankful for?

Actually, did you know that some yakiniku chains like Gyukaku actually DO have restaurants in the US? Only thing is that they're all in like, NYC or California... http://www.gyu-kaku.com/

There was a Japanese restaurant in Pittsburgh when I lived there (over 8 years ago now) that did nabe, but you rarely saw anyone except actual Japanese people doing it, because everyone else would freak out like OMG RAW STUFF!

There are a lot of Chinese restaurants where you can do hot pot and many that are just geared for it. Also, most cities with any sizable Asian population will have sukiyaki and yakiniku places. I know NYC and Seattle definitely do and I've even seen them in Portland, OR...